DETECTIVES FROM THE PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch who are investigating the murder of PC Ronan Kerr have made a significant discovery of arms and munitions.
A man has also been arrested in connection with the find, which has been described as “one of the most significant in recent years”.
The find was made in Coalisland in East Tyrone last night and within the last two hours a man has been arrested in Dumbartonshire in Scotland in connection with the weapons.
The 26-year-old suspect is being brought back to Northern Ireland for questioning and police from Strathclyde Police assisted PSNI detectives in the arrest operation.
The PSNI said this “will form lines of inquiry into Ronan’s murder and into terrorist activity generally”.
The seizure was made in a garage unit on the Mountjoy Road, where police officers discovered a number of stolen vehicles and, inside those vehicles, a significant amount of arms and munitions.
The haul included:
• FourKalashnikov rifles
• Ammunition, six loaded magazines
• Timer power units
• Detonators
• Incendiary bombs
• Components for rocket launchers and other explosive devices
• And a quantity of explosives, possibly Semtex.
The PSNI have said the investigation into Ronan’s murder “will continue in the coming days and weeks with the same determination and professionalism which resulted in last night’s discovery”.
ACC Drew Harris of the PSNI Crime Operations section said:
Everyone in Northern Ireland is very much safer today because these munitions have been taken out of circulation. They will now be forensically examined and provide new lines of enquiry for our investigators. We cannot show them to you because we have fast tracked them for forensic examination.
Of the funeral for PC Kerr, he said:
At one level, it was heartbreaking. My heart goes out to Ronan’s family. At another level, it was heartening to see so many ordinary decent people from so many different walks of life come to pay their respects to this young man who had his whole life and career in front of him.
Many of Ronan’s colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland attended the funeral. But many others were unable to attend because they have been working around the clock on the investigation into this murder.
Police have appealed to anyone with information about Ronan’s murder or about terrorist activity generally to give information to police.
The police incident room can be contacted on 028 8225 6659 or people can give information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestopppers, telephone 0800 555 111 from the UK or callers from outside the UK can ring 00 44 1883 731 335.
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